Opening Up the Findings of Drug Trials

Los Angeles Times by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar | Sep. 17, 2007 (Special Report)

Although there is wide agreement that the system for reporting on clinical trials needs an overhaul, there are sharp disagreements on just how to do it. And the issue is in danger of getting short shrift as a Sept. 30 deadline approaches for broader House and Senate legislation to revamp the whole drug safety system.
Clinical trials, in which patients use a new drug and are watched closely for signs of trouble, are considered the gold standard to ... Full Story »

Posted by Dwight Rousu

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Patricia Blochowiak
3.0
 by Patricia Blochowiak - Oct. 1, 2008

This story, while basically good, contains inaccuracies and omissions that seriously decrease the reader's understanding of the issue. Saying that it's hard for scientists to find results, for example, suggests that scientists can find all the results, if they just try hard enough, which is not accurate. The pharmaceutical industry has sued and harrassed researchers who've wanted to publish unfavorable results, leaving many studies partially or entirely unpublished. Who are the "critics" and "outside advisors" who are mentioned? Where is any mention of the physician authors of books criticizing the the industry, or of the impressive financial gains and unethical sales/marketing campaigns of the pharmaceutical industry? Still, the story provides enough information to be worth reading.

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